This site has a comprehensive list of literary awards given yearly for excellence in writing in many categories. Besides a winners' list, there is an explanation of each award. In addition to book awards, there are also separate listings for film and music album awards. Each separate award site has an "honor roll," a list of the best in that area, as well as a complete listing. Archives include many lists from the past ten years as well. Although the list includes many awards public and private school teachers may not be familiar with, the site is a good place to begin to aid in the selection of quality outside reading material. In addition, many offer a "young adult" subcategory that would be helpful for teachers in grades 7-12 in recommending books to students for literature activities, independent reading, or writing inspiration/examples.This site includes advertising.

In the Classroom

Use this site for research projects. Have students search a specific type of award and create a multimedia presentation using one of the many TeachersFirst Edge tools reviewed here. Set up a class literature review wiki for students to share their own reviews. Not comfortable with wikis? Have no wiki worries - check out the TeachersFirst Wiki Walk-Through.

CyberWise provides tools for parents, educators, and kids to help them understand and use new media tools safely at home and in the classroom. The site provides an extensive collection of videos and resources that explain current media tools and ways to use them. Guides include Twitter, Google+, Pinterest, Blogger, Prezi, Glogster, Facebook, Snapchat, Vine, and many others. Enter any tool name into the search box to see if there is a guide. Find information about media literacy, digital citizenship, cyberbullying, sexting, and more. The CyberCivics blog has the latest issues, trends, and tools to keep you an informed digital citizen. Sign up for the free newsletter and subscribe to the blog to stay current with information included on the site. If your district blocks YouTube, the videos may not be viewable. You could always view them at home and bring them to class "on a stick" to share. Use a tool such as KeepVid, reviewed here, to download the videos from YouTube.This site includes advertising.

In the Classroom

Share videos on your interactive whiteboard or projector with students to discuss media tools and how they are using them, or show before assigning projects using current media tools. Challenge students to create an online "scrapbook" on cyber safety using Smilebox, reviewed here, or ask them to create a simple infographic using Piktochart,
reviewed here. Share videos with parents to help them understand current media tools and how to use them.

Looking to take bits of notes from a variety of web pages? Use Memonic to take notes or clip any web content. Easily take it with you wherever you go and share it with others (or the entire world.) Using Memonic allows much more efficient printing. The free plan allows up to 100 notes and 3 groups.This site includes advertising.

In the Classroom

Use this site to collect your thoughts and information for class projects, research, and idea/data gathering. Create a group for others to share information with for a subject area, class, or a common interest. Use with classes to allow students to comment to any page you assign for discussion. Students can find pages of interest about a specific content topic and comment their likes and dislikes. Look at various political, environmental, or ethical viewpoints by adding URL's for both sides of the argument and allow time for commenting and voicing of opinion. Learning support teachers may want to create notes together with students, annotating assigned text to show understanding and learn target vocabulary.

Keep track of what you have completed towards a goal. Everyday, iDoneThis sends an email asking what you have accomplished. Reply with a list of things completed. iDoneThis posts to your online calendar to keep up with your progress. Send an email to today@idonethis.com and it will post on the calendar day that the email is sent. Note that it does take some time for the information to appear on the online calendar and may not be viewable right away. Choose the time of day for your email to be sent asking you, "What have you done today?"

In the Classroom

Keep motivation going by listing the little steps that students have achieved towards a bigger goal. Email reminders offer a little nudge gently and with humor when no steps have been taken toward the goal. Boost motivation by going back through the calendar to see all the work that you have finished instead of just focusing on what has not been completed. Use this resource to help students keep track of the baby steps towards the completion of larger projects or goals. Be sure to identify the little steps that need to be completed in order to complete the actual project or goal. Learning support and gifted students alike can benefit from this organizational tool for time management. Let them try this tool to motivate themselves.

As of June 2017 Protagonize is no longer updated, however there is a note that all contents remain for those who would like to explore. Protagonize was originally a site for collaborative story creation. However, now you and your students can create your own "linear" or solo stories, poems, song lyrics, etc. Stories are available for others to comment on or add to. You can easily specify two endings like the "Choose Your Own Adventure" series or leave the story's ending unfinished. Alternatively, choose to create different "chapters" of a story. Before writing, choose from many different story genres. If you prefer not to have outside input on the story, you can select "solo" writing. It is easy to change solo to collaborative writing, however. There is also an option to digitally link the chapters. The site is very flexible, and you can write poetry, drama, song lyrics, and writing exercises including role plays. Before writing, students set up "story guidelines" so that future contributors can see the parameters of the piece. Students can also view the work of others. Mature content is marked with a "Mature" marker. Students and other writers have an obligation to report inappropriate content. PDF format or RSS feeds allow the created work to be saved to another format.This site includes advertising.

In the Classroom

You may wish to set up a group or class account, so that you can keep a careful eye on what outside additions are made (use an RSS feed!) . Students would then need to sign their writing or their comments on other class members writing, with a code known by you. Or you can invite students through email, and then create a group on the program that would include your students; however this group would also be open to the public.

Create groups of students who would like to work together on a "Choose Your Own Adventure" story connected to a science or social studies topic. Have the students create the story guidelines and parameters. Once the students have started the story, have them use your projector and interactive whiteboard and get feedback from class members about the different directions the story could take. Publish the final adventures by using the page flipping publishing program, Youblisher, reviewed here.

Have your students create "solo" stories, and then have them switch to "collaborative" to receive comments and input from other members in their writing group or class. Publish the final adventures by using the page flipping publishing program, Youblisher, reviewed here.

This collection of reviewed resources includes many types of writing prompts, both visual and verbal, to inspire writing. Whether you want students to try their hand at poetry or informational writing, there are ideas here to help. Make this collection available for students to find their own inspiration for open-ended, creative writing assignments. Teachers can also use this list to find 2-3 possible choices for a targeted writing assignment. Student choice is key in helping student voice come through in their writing.

In the Classroom

Make this collection available for students to find their own inspiration for open-ended, creative writing assignments. Teachers can also use this list to find 2-3 possible choices for a targeted writing assignment.

Explore vocabulary and word activities related to Groundhog's Day on this extensive site for vocabulary, roots, and more. Find interactive vocabulary activities the same list of using Groundhog's day related vocabulary words. There are printable crosswords, fill in the blanks and more, all using the same theme words. This and other "themes" available on the site will make vocabulary development fun.

In the Classroom

Try these thematic puzzles as your vocabulary of the week in early February. Have students work in cooperative learning groups, divide up the vocabulary words, and have each group find the definitions for their assigned vocabulary words. Have the groups share their words and definitions in an online book, using a tool such as Bookemon, reviewed here.) Have the groups share the online books on your interactive whiteboard or projector. If you don't have the time to complete online books, have students share the definitions using a class wiki or create their own interactive whiteboard activities to challenge classmates to match words and definitions. Be sure to also check out the interactive word puzzles!

Looking for review materials for a variety of classes? Use Learning Objects for a wide range of curriculum topics. (A "learning object" is any kind interactive activity, animation, video, audio file, etc, that can be used for learning.) This site is great for introductory, reinforcement, or review materials. Find most of the relevant topics under "General Education." Choose from many subjects such as biology, biochemistry, chemistry, math, sociology, world languages, and written communication, among others. Gifted students or those who learn well independently can study Chinese and other topics not easily available in their school using these learning objects.

In the Classroom

Find a variety of topics for each subject area. For example, use learning objects in biology topics: How to use a Microscope, Life Cycles of Animals and Plants, and Cell Division. Choose from many others. Use as an introduction to a new unit. Additionally, these learning objects can be used for reinforcement or as a review. Under the Written Communication subject you will find 50 Learning Objects from parts of speech, commonly confused words, to how to summarize, brainstorm, and many others. Share direct urls to specific review activities to help students who need extra practice or as links on a class web page or wiki for all students to access outside of class. Encourage students to comment on your wiki about the learning objects they found most helpful in explaining tough concepts (use the discussion tab).

Dvolver creates animated movies online. In no time at all, there is an animation of your topic. No membership is needed to create movies. Membership is free. Some content choices may be inappropriate for the classroom. The scene descriptions include things like "freeze your butt off" at the mountain scene, so less mature students will not manage this tool well. Always preview or use under supervision, depending on your teaching situation and students' maturity level. Here is a sample Dvolver movie made by our review team. Tip: email the finished movie to yourself to obtain the url or find it amid the embed code, if you are enough of a "geek."

Devolvr content may be problematic in some middle school/junior high settings, depending on community standards and student maturity levels. Teachers should preview to determine suitability at their own school or use only in a teacher-supervised setting.This site includes advertising.

In the Classroom

Model how to use this site safely on your projector or interactive whiteboard so students can learn how to act wisely online. Doing this also provides you with the ability to point out specific features students should not use and to spell out consequences. Some districts may filter this site. Follow district policy to see if you can request it be unblocked for educational purposes. Have students create commercials for any or all content areas. The videos are short and limited in the number of characters for text. This means they take very little time to create which makes the tool very versatile. Use this to create beginning of the year "do's and dont's" for your classes instead of rule lectures. Try one for open house to let parents know quickly what is going on in your class. Embedding results in a class wiki or web page will avoid issues with students venturing into undesirable areas of the site. Primary teachers could make quick "movies" as a class using sight words in the speech bubbles so students can practice reading them at a center.

Comments

Not appropriate for elementary or middle school students. Options suggest or lend themselves to inappropriate content. Characters are overtly sexual and scantily clad.
Editors Note: Thank you for your comment. We have raised the grade level and added a strong warning.Dwight, , Grades: 3 - 7

Create definition lists easily and completely. Simply enter the terms, and click "generate" to create a list of words with definitions. View synonyms, download as a document, or email your list to others. Be aware: there are no filters on this definition site, so ANY word (appropriate or not) can easily be searched by students. Use under teacher supervision with students likely to enter inappropriate terms for immature reactions.This site includes advertising.

In the Classroom

You must know where you are saving downloads on your computer to save the list as a document. Pay attention and name files with meaningful file names, such as "chapter17vocab." Enter your list with one term per line or separated by commas, etc. Click on advanced options to add other options to the search: number or alphabetize the definition results, maximum definitions, and hiding parts of speech.

Create definitions easily for word lists in any subject area. Have students enter a series of similar words to see variations in connotations. For example, enter various words that mean "fat" and discover the variability in positive and negative connotations. Follow up with a ranking or sorting activity with the same words on interactive whiteboard to build word choice options. Have students generate individualized reading vocabulary lists for content are reading chapters or literature. Click on the synonyms tab to find related words. Save as a document for easy sharing in groups. Advise students to collect definitions and compare to those they write in their own words. As with any other reference, students should be cautioned to be sure these are accurate definitions needed for the context in which they are studying the words.

Create your own rubric for multimedia and other projects or search the gallery from many that already exist for all grade levels. (Also use the gallery to get great project ideas!) Search the type of rubric or project to find a related rubric. Use the buttons at the bottom to preview, edit (customize and save your own version from existing ones), or copy. Share by URL or embed code in a wiki, blog, or site. Keep bookmarked rubrics in your account on the site. Create free personal or group accounts (for educators). Create classes, join educator groups, and more.

In the Classroom

To save rubrics and modify existing ones, educators must create an account. Find great project ideas, rubric examples and criteria. Build on the expertise of others to create excellent rubrics. Consider creating categories and using the advice of students to help identify criteria that is important to the project. You might even want to create differentiated rubrics to match multiple intelligences, learning styles, or varied ability levels. With such easy adaptations, you can start alter different versions very easily.

This site provides descriptions of children's and young adult movies and the books they come from. The site encourages kids to read the book first, or watch the movie first, whichever they prefer. The list has frequent updates, so students can check back on a regular basis to see if what they're reading has become a film yet. A link provides contact with the complete list of book-movie pairs including books and films for adults. Clicking the name of the book goes to the library catalog and the film goes to the IMDB (Internet Movie Database).

Besides the book-movie pairings, the site allows students to review books and also provides interactive reading guides for six subgenres of children's books: pirate books, fantasy, adventure, and more. Another separate section deals with books that become TV shows and TV shows that become books later. Since this is a site from New Zealand, however, the TV portion may not be applicable elsewhere.

In the Classroom

Introduce this site to your class using your interactive whiteboard or projector. Allow students time to explore on their own about a book they want to read that has an accompanying movie. This could be a class book, and the treat after reading would be to watch the movie. Students could then write a compare contrast essay, or an essay that evaluates which was better, the book or the movie and why. Have students compare the book and movie using an online Venn diagram site such as the Interactive Two Circle Venn Diagram (reviewed here).

This site would also be a good site to use with ESL/ELL students and reluctant readers. Students could read a section of the book, then watch that section of the movie, and verbally compare or evaluate, ask questions, etc.

This site is a valuable resource for teachers to use for cross-curricular writing tips. Articles are added daily. Topics include Affect vs Effect, Writing Numbers - 5 Rules to Remember, What is an Oxymoron, and many others. Click previous entries to access additional articles of interest.This site includes advertising.

In the Classroom

Print articles to use in class for writing lessons in class. Use several articles and have students present information to the class. Have each student in your class read one article and report back to the class. Challenge students to create electronic "posters" or word graphics for adopted word using tools such as Piclits (reviewed here) or Typogenerator (reviewed here). Another idea, use the articles as examples for students to write their own writing tips articles. Check the site weekly and share one article per week with students to use in writing journals.

This site offers a searchable database of lesson plans in all subjects and grade levels. Searches can be performed by subject area, grade level, and/or keywords. A short summary of each lesson is offered with the search results, lessons contain an overview, content standards (state and national), learning objectives, materials needed, procedures, and assessments. Remediation and Extension activities are also included. Some lessons also include variations added by site users.

In the Classroom

This site is a great resource when looking for lessons by subject. Try including a grade level above and below your current level to find additional activities that can be modified to meet your needs. Save this site in your personal favorites to visit throughout the year!

Create and administer tests easily with this resource. ExamGeneral is free to use (unless you decide to sell your tests). ExamGeneral receives a portion of the revenue as well as a nominal up-front fee if you do sell. Follow the detailed tutorial for help in using the site. Create a class and even define whether students require a subscription. Use the class ID for students to use to join your class. Create test templates, tests, schedule tests, and view results from your dashboard. Secret URL's are generated for each exam. Choose to auto grade your exam, create a time limit, and other parameters of the exam.

In the Classroom

Create an easy way to enter tests and grade them. Create pre- and post- assessment tests as well as unit tests. Create practice rest for end of the year type exams. Be sure to save this site in your favorites! Students could also create peer "tests" as review activities or as follow up after student presentations.

PortfolioVillage is a powerful eportfolio site where you or your students can showcase all types of work. PortfolioVillage is a free and easy to use program. Their unique drag and drop editor makes it easy. There are also editable flash widgets and the thousands of stock images and animations. You can create a flash portfolio website with media rich components: videos, audio, a play list, create forms, chats, and blogs. Be sure to watch the introduction video and read about the features provided.

PortfolioVillage must be updated every six months to stay free. Your portfolio will be deleted if not updated.

For those of you with iPads, this Flash site won't work for you. However, you might try Google Swiffy reviewed here. Google Swiffy is a tool that lets you convert Flash SWF files to HTML5 to view on non-Flash devices such as iTouch, iPad, and iPhone.

In the Classroom

There are a gazillion ways to use an eportfolio! Have your students upload their current and past work that they think they might want to showcase. They can have an area for all their different talents whether it is drawing, writing, acting, creating games or codes, designing anything, or athletic prowess. Students could create an online presence to share in college or job applications.

You may want to start out slowly, allowing your students to choose a talent that may fit within traditional curriculum. Have students select several pieces to demonstrate their talent and upload it to a working portfolio. You can then have the students reflect on each piece in writing. Students should then choose one artifact to showcase; have them write about why that was their choice. The eportfolio can be presented in class by students using a projector or an interactive whiteboard. Teachers who have students for more than one year (such as in a gifted program or Art classes) can encourage students to show growth in their talents.

Find a wealth of ideas and tips for using technology in your classroom. Tammy Worcester, an instructional technology specialist for ESSDACK and ISTE presenter, compiles her tips of the week here. Other portions of the site include her book sales and paid training and consultation services. See a list of over 100 technology of the week tips, such as creating lesson plans as a Google spreadsheet, sharing lesson plans using Google, as well as publishing them. Follow simple step by step instructions with screen shots embedded for even the most wary technology user. You will also find lists of internet resources given by category. Find 18 ideas and activities explained in simple formats. Some activities include: All about me scavenger hunt, idiom slide show, multiplication charts, Tall Tales, and poetry. This site is ever-growing, so check back often.This site includes advertising.

In the Classroom

Trying to think of new ways to use technology with your students (in all grades?). Want to learn just one small tip each week? The weekly tips are a great ice-breaker to using technology and new teaching ideas in your classroom. Try that one tip that is suggested and explore more as you feel comfortable.

Use this free site for mind mapping (concept maps) and collaboration. Sign up is easy by using existing Google/OpenID/Facebook logins or creating a new login. Review the simple tutorial after sign up for the basics. The FREE account is only for ONE user. So if you plan to have students use the site, you will have to have each student register individually, or each group create an individual account. Note that free accounts make all your "slates" public for others to collaborate/change.

View the video for a quick introduction on copying, moving, and linking boxes. Use the template panel to drop nodes needed for your new slate into the drop panel. Hovering over the box shows tools for editing text, creating links to other boxes (click and hold on the icon while dragging to another box.) Control the colors, borders, template, etc. in the right navigation pane. Export your slate to a pdf document or create an embed code to place into a wiki or blog.

In the Classroom

Create a template mindmap and add collaborator leaders (perhaps one in each group) who can --in turn-- add the rest of the group to collaborate. Assign portions of a template to a group of students. Groups can collaborate on paper or your whiteboard and then choose the best ideas for the slate being created. You can also use Slatebox with a whole-class account. Show SlateBox creations using an interactive whiteboard or projector. Edit or change elements easily with class input. Use for mapping content being studied in the current unit, problem solving, vocabulary, and more. Use this site to help students interact with and organize ideas. Construct points of a short story, identify main points of passages, or generate a map of the basic points of paragraph development. Wrap up a lesson by having the students create a "diagram of the day" (the main points of the lesson). Students can use this site to map ideas in passages of a textbook. If each student or group maps a specific passage, ideas from chapters can be seen visually. Be sure to include the links to student-created "diagrams" on a class wiki or web page so students can use them for review. If your students have Internet access outside of class, assign them to create a simple diagram of an assigned reading as homework and embed it into a wiki or blog.

Wiggio makes communicating in groups extremely easy (and free.) Use Wiggio for messaging, creating a calendar, polling, sharing and editing, and conferencing. Use a shared folder for files and links. Wiggio boasts of the ease of use of its application which allows novice and more skilled users an easy to understand and use interface. How can it be so easy? It is actually very simplified collaboration.

In the Classroom

Create a password for others to join groups you create. Students enter the group name and password to join. All groups appear on your dashboard page. Click on your group to use the tools. Messages to the group can also be posted by email or text message. Click on the green arrow below the post field to choose who the message can be sent to. Click on various tools along the top to open. Tools such as calendar, folder, meeting, poll, message, and to-do lists are very easy to follow. Videos on using Wiggio can also be found on the site. Change all information within your group in the Group Settings. Group information can also be viewed directly on the Wiggio site.

Use this simple tool for academic and extra-curricular groups who need to plan meetings, create schedules, or collaborate through messaging. Try this site with teachers and parents for solving transportation issues or with younger students by using the polling or messaging tool. Use this resource with high school students working on group projects for better group communication, managing work flow, and more. Take the time to model how to plan and manage group process using such a tool. What a study and life skill!

Have a student stumped by homework? Find exercises and extra help in various subject areas in this kid friendly site. Navigate through the various resources and friendly graphics to areas of the site such as "Sweet Stuff" which features neat interactives, "Needed Knowledge" with great tips, "Book review" to view video book reviews, and "Getting Historical." Watch informative (don't confuse with boring) videos of various math problems whether it be basic math, solving word problems, or even geometry. Find videos for other subjects such as science, language arts, social studies, health, and art. Review information in various subjects by trying age-appropriate interactives. This site also boasts "Dial A Teacher." Students can use a toll-free number to speak with a real teacher Monday through Thursday between the hours of 4:00 and 7:00 p.m. EST.

In the Classroom

Visit the "Boring Stuff' link for parents and teachers to find a PDF of 10 Ways to Use the Homework Helper Site in Your Classroom. Find segment guides, scripts, and book reviews beneficial for in class or use by students outside of class. Share this link at Back to School Night and put the link directly on your class website. Encourage middle schoolers to build independent work habits using this site.

Consider creating helpful information, videos, and tutorials of information students need answers to and creating your own help site as a school. Use students to create book reviews, math tutorials, etc. Use a tool such as SchoolTube reviewed here to share the videos.